Modern wound dressings are designed to promote healing by providing a moist, warm or heated, wound environment. Warming a wound promotes healing by increasing blood flow to the area. Moisture in a wound is also very important to the healing process because it helps cells grow and divide, and reduces scarring. Available modern dressings may be dampened or moistened and then heated, for example, by microwave heating. Concurrent with the development of these dressings is the concern regarding a potential for microbial colonization of the wound. Antibiotics are available to combat infections but many people are allergic to certain antibiotics and antibiotic usage can cause gastrointestinal upset or other side effects. Further, excessive use of antibiotics has been blamed for the occurrence of treatment-resistant bacteria.
Blepharitis is a common and ongoing condition where the eyelids become inflamed (swollen), with oily particles and bacteria coating the eyelid margin near the base of the eyelashes. This annoying condition causes irritation, itchiness, redness, and stinging or burning of the eyes. While the underlying causes of blepharitis aren't completely understood, it can be associated with a bacterial eye infection, symptoms of dry eyes or certain types of skin conditions such as acne rosacea. Anterior blepharitis affects the outside of the eyelid where your eyelashes are attached. This can be caused by bacterial (or sometimes viral) infection. If left untreated, anterior blepharitis can lead to thickened and inward-turned or outward-turned eyelids and even vision problems from in-turned eyelashes damaging the cornea. Posterior blepharitis is a condition that results from a dysfunction of the eye's tiny oil glands (meibomian glands) in the eyelids at the base of the eyelashes. When meibomian glands become clogged from posterior blepharitis, it can also can cause a stye or chalazion to form. Posterior blepharitis also leads to thickened eyelid margins and crusty eyelids. With this type of blepharitis, tears can even look foamy.
Moist heat therapy applied by an area compress may also be beneficial to the treatment of arthritic or sprained joints, strained muscles, back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, or in any treatment where heat might be applied through or to the skin to promote circulation therein and thereunder. In such applications where no wound exudates contaminate therapy materials, reusability of the compress is an attractive cost-efficient design feature. Bacterial presence can cause dermatological problems to the treated area and further, a growing microbial colony in a reusable compress can cause the spread of infection through cross contamination when handled. This may represent a particular threat to therapy patients, many of whom have persistent or slow-healing injuries or compromised immunity systems.
A growing strategy for reducing the potential for infection or bacterial growth in a wound or on skin tissue under moist heat therapy is the incorporation of noble metal antimicrobials into the therapeutic wound dressing. The most prevalent such metal in use is silver due to its relative lack of cytotoxic effects and wide spectrum of antimicrobial effectiveness. Medical materials and instruments are available which provide the emission of silver metal or silver compounds to provide an antimicrobial effect. Such available dressings, once moistened, release silver into the surrounding liquid. The dressing thereby becomes an effective antimicrobial barrier. The silver, however, is consumed and lost in the process. Such products are inherently not conveniently reusable.
In both moist heat therapy wound dressings and compresses, bacterial and fungal growth can also cause unpleasant odor and unsightly discoloration which may adversely affect the morale of the patient. Thus there is a need in general for dressings and compresses designed to maintain sterility therein and to also provide microbial free moisture.